Startup Scene

This year has been completely crazy so far. And even more since August, as we’ve organized 2 Demo Days @Fintech FUSION and are preparing us intensively for the new batch of startups, entering the acceleration program on Wednesday (more information to come on FUSION blog). As I’m used to say, I’m in a “Grand Bleu” mode (that means, “Deep Dive holding my Breath”). That is, that I have not enough time to do all what I’d like to (like blogging ways more!). But do not worry, I have plenty of blog post ideas in mind… But before surfacing again, here are 3 startups events you may (should) attending in October 2016 if you are in Switzerland. Startup Weekend Fintech, Geneva, October 7-9th For the first time ever in Western Switzerland, a Startup Weekend dedicated to fintech will take place this weekend in …

Summer is slowly coming to an end and it’s time for startup events to pop up everywhere again… The less I can say is that there are many, many events happening everywhere in Europe. It’s absolutely amazing to see the development and growth of the European and Swiss startup scene over the last 8 years. Now, even in Switzerland (which is still not seen as a relevant startup hotspot), you could attend an interesting event almost every day. Of course, that’s a big trap for first time entrepreneurs (and for everybody trying to grow a startup). You have to select carefully what is truly relevant for your startup, where you’ll be meeting either potential investors or customers (hum… you mostly do not find your customers at startup events!). Or where you’ll be learning a lot. Hereafter, I’ll present you a …

Regular readers of this blog know that I’m a big fan of building bridges… For instance, between Swiss startup scene and the most advanced European startups hubs like London or Berlin. Even after the Brexit dramatic vote (for the London startup scene), I still believe that Swiss startups should still think about going UK. But we will see what happens in the coming weeks (at best) or months/years, which would be the worst thing ever: uncertainty is always bad for business! As an entrepreneur, you have already ways too much uncertainty without caring about uncertainty in regulation and international trade agreements. For startups wanting to conquer the world, the most important thing is to be able to scale as efficiently as possible. And hiring the talents they need. For this, Switzerland is not bad… regulatory changes are very slow and …

Switzerland is a beautiful country to work and to live. Low unemployment rate and good salaries, a very stable politic system, data privacy, beautiful landscapes, a precise and working transportation system, a place in Central Europe and very good international flights connections. Swiss people are also among the happiest people in the world (see here). Switzerland is even one of the most innovative countries in the world (mostly due to all patents submitted by pharmaceutical giants). But who speaks about Switzerland as a Startup Hub when thinking about digital? Nobody… at least on an international level. Even though the local startup scene is very lively and spread across the whole country (compared to other countries in Europe, you can find startups almost everywhere in Switzerland!). If the “events” metric is a valid measure, then Switzerland has no problem on the …

It’s almost already Easter… and a long weekend to relax and maybe do some Easter Egg Hunts? Next Thursday, a big fintech event is happening in Zürich: The Fintech 2016 Conference. A wide panel of fintech experts, financial executives and investors will present and debate about innovation in the financial industry. From banking innovation to blockchain, from learnings out of the Silicon Valley to a debate on how to accelerate innovation, there will be a lot of knowledge to collect during this day. You can buy your ticket here (yes, it’s quite expensive…). Strangely, the conference will be a mix between English and German. My 2 cents: why cannot we just do tech conferences in English in Switzerland? Even if it’s not a problem for me (I speak German), I think it’s a missed opportunity to attract more people from …

We often hear that Switzerland lacks of a big startup event. Dublin had one with Web Summit (now moving to Lisbon), Paris had one with LeWeb (now kind of “replaced” by the The Rude Baguette events or the new Viva Technology event), Vienna has Pioneers, Münich has DLD Conference, Amsterdam has The Next Web, Barcelona has many startup events around the Mobile World Congress, Berlin and London have PLENTY (NOAH, etc.). And how about Switzerland? It is not the pompously named WorldWebSummit which can fill the gap. START Summit (happening on Friday in St. Gallen), alongside with the Swiss Startup Day and Startupfair are the biggest startup events in Switzerland. The three of them have different models and they do their best to attract renowned startup people from across the world (for Start Summit, leveraging the HSG St-Gallen alumnis network). …

The next SICTIC Investor Day Lausanne will happen in Lausanne on April 25th, at EPFL. 8 selected technology-driven startups (the web, mobile, software, hardware) will have the opportunity to do an elevator pitch (one slide, 90 seconds) to an interesting audience comprised of business angels, professional investors and startup enthusiasts. The public will then select 4 startups based on their short pitch. The finalists will then have 7 minutes (and 5 minutes Q&A) to present their startup in more details. A jury comprised of entrepreneurs and investors (Alexandre Peyraud, Thomas Dübendorfer, Bolko Hohaus, Julien Guex) will elect the winner of the competition, who will get some fame (always good to win a competition and get some press) and hopefully some investors! Finally, startups and investors will gather around a cocktail in a relaxed atmosphere. Even for startups who don’t win: it’s …

This year again, Startup Weekend is coming back to Biel/Bienne, the biggest bilingual city of Switzerland. And again, I’m deeply involved in the organisation, as Biel/Bienne is kind of my home city. You may have heard that Startup Weekend Lausanne just happened, on EPFL campus. Startup Weekend Biel/Bienne is different. Less students, more people active as manager, developers, business men, designers… and a unique atmosphere just in regards of the language spoken! As a coach, I’ve been interacting with a team first in German, then in English to finally speak French. And vice-versa. Everyone kind of spoke its own language and does its best to understand the other ones. And it works! But if you’re new here, you may think: What is Startup Weekend? Startup Weekend is a 54-hour event for developers, designers and entrepreneurs to hack on their latest …

About me

Hello!
My name is Sébastien Flury. I am a passionate entrepreneur (running the digital agency Coteries and Planify. I'm also a startup blogger (here!) since 2012 and Partner at TechBridge.

In 2015, I was recruited to launch and run the first Swiss Fintech acceleration program (FUSION), where I was active until end of 2016, in parallel to my own ventures.
I brought SICTIC Investor Day in Lausanne in 2013, organized multiple Startup Weekends.

I'm a startup(aho)lic and always keen to meet new people and discover innovation/business opportunities!

Doing my best to connect the dots on the Swiss startup scene (and beyond)!